Essay: WHAT MAKES THE STOCK MARKET GO UP--AND DOWN

FROM its inception, the stock market was meant to be a place where
businessmen could raise capital by selling shares in their enterprises,
and where investors could turn a profit when those enterprises
prospered. The market still serves both purposes, but today it is
judged less by what it does for businessmen seeking capital than by
what it accomplishes for investors seeking gain.

In a time of high and rising taxes, investment in stocks is one of the
few ways by which a wage or salary earner can hope to become richat
least on...